Visual and Performing Arts

The arts are not a frill. The arts are a response to our individuality and our nature, and help to shape our identity. What is there that can transcend deep difference and stubborn divisions? The arts. They have a wonderful universality. Art has the potential to unify. It can speak in many languages without a translator. The arts do not discriminate. The arts can lift us up.

– Former Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan

At The Bridge School, we embrace Barbara Jordan’s respect for the arts and have designed our educational curriculum to integrate the various forms of artistic expression into our academic activities in addition to implementing a standards-based Visual and Performing Arts curriculum. The Visual and Performing Arts curriculum provides essential foundational steps for our students as they develop their ability to communicate their thoughts, feelings and understandings of the world around them. Through participation in standards-based curricular activities in dance, music, theater and visual arts, our students begin to develop life-long skills of art appreciation and creative expression. Participation in the arts provides each student with experiences to enhance his/her own perceptual, physical and technical abilities while expanding communication skills across broad forms of self-expression. Using adapted tools and assistive technologies, students gain knowledge, vocabulary and skills needed to express their ideas creatively in verbal and nonverbal ways. Individually and as a group, they learn to experiment and solve problems of access and expression. Additionally, they begin to understand what it means to be a member of the audience. They enhance their understanding of the academic content and learn beginning acting skills by portraying community helpers, favorite characters in books or historical figures. Our students explore the use of traditional media (e.g., paper, paints) and electronic media (e.g., digital video, photo software, animation) to create and express ideas. They learn to use assistive technologies and digital devices to access and share the vast amount of music, art, and information that is available to them through the Internet.

By connecting the arts with other curricular content areas, our classroom teams help students build and apply skills in reading, math, science and social studies in meaningful ways. Their artistic accomplishments across the curriculum may include using paints and other materials to create works of art that represent ways of life from long ago, moving to music and experimenting with rhythmical motions to learn and reinforce math concepts and creating costumes and props to enhance their performances of acting out a plot or retelling a familiar story. Our students learn about why, when, and where people dance and how dance is an expression of various cultures from past and present times and places.

At The Bridge School, Visual and Performing Arts often involve the collaboration of classroom teams with guest artists and incorporates local community events to support our students’ standards-based arts experiences. For example, each year we host a performance by the Wisdom Dancers and our students learn about Native American culture and language through story, music and dance. Our annual Bridge School Benefit Concert each Fall creates numerous opportunities for artistic connections and expression by our students as they create backstage door art, conduct interviews with musical artists, explore photography and share experiences, opinions and preferences for various songs and artists. The Children’s Drama Services performs at our school each Spring to engage our students in their original medley of songs and stories portraying traditional and contemporary songs and characters from children’s movies and television shows. Integrating community artists into a comprehensive, standards-based arts program brings the experiences of practicing artists to the students, who learn that artists continually strive to solve problems, improve their skills and focus on meaningful expression in their art form. Many of our staff and family members apply their own artistic skills and talents to our arts curriculum. Through these experiences, our students begin to see themselves as members of a community of artists with a growing sense of appreciation for the various performing art forms including dance, theater, music, and the visual arts of painting and drawing. Follow-up activities help the students build understandings and connections between the creative work they do and that done by others.

In Action

Every activity is designed to incorporate a wide range of goals and objectives across the educational program. Art can be integrated into our curriculum as a part of larger projects or as a vehicle where other areas of the academic program support a student’s creative expression. Independent, upright mobility devices (hands-free walkers), adapted tools and speech generating devices (SGD) ensure full participation in these activities.

Her hands-free walker allows Jackie access to the art paper placed on the wall and an adapted crayon holder provides her the tool she needs to draw independently. Students use the drawings for greeting cards.

Our students learn to use their augmentative and alternative communication strategies within the context of the curriculum. Abigail and Savannah’s teacher models how to request a pair of scissors. The classroom has been engineered so students can easily look toward a cupboard, clearly marked by the objects they contain, to choose a tool.

Working with simple tools and practicing measurement tasks were taught in conjunction with an art project completed for Father’s Day. Savannah hammers tacks into a wooden tree stump that she’ll use as a picture frame.

Savannah is able to paint her picture frame independently through the use of her hands-free walker and an adapted paint brush holder. The hands-free walker allows her more independence when painting.

Savannah finishes her piece by hammering in the final tacks.

Student responsibilities for performance art activities include planning and designing sets that reflect concepts and vocabulary they’ve learned in language arts. Jet is painting a prop for one of his plays.

Jackie and Abigail are in their hands-free walkers pretending to gather vegetables. They are role-playing to reinforce the concept vocabulary they will use during their Thanksgiving play. Their hands-free walkers allow them to reach into the garden to collect the vegetables.

Students practice one of the scenes from their Thanksgiving performance. They participate in the play by reciting their lines using their individual speech generating devices.

More Art In Action

Job is the Master of Ceremony for a performance. All of his lines are on his SGD. Here, he practices navigating to his Master of Ceremony page on his device using a switch at his elbow.

Ready, get set, go! Students are in their hands-free walkers preparing to paint with their feet!

Collin is cruising!

Job starts with just a little paint and ends with a beautiful mosaic!

The masterpiece!

Students direct and make choices for all parts of the projects they create. Abigail chooses the font and color for the lettering that will accompany her art mural.

Students are very meticulous when designing their work. Aidan directs the placement of each cut-out as it’s added to his poster. He uses AAC strategies that give him control of the outcome.

When a student is given the opportunity to create a piece of art by having control of the process, their work is an authentic reflection of who they are. Aidan is confident in his work.

Jackie’s poster is a true reflection of her personality.

References and Resources

Visual and Performing Arts Framework for California Public Schools http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/vp/cf/

National Performing Arts Convention: Taking Action Together (May 27, 2012). Useful Quotes for Art Advocates.

http://www.performingartsconvention.org/advocacy/id=28